WebiMax » Social Media Campaignhttp://www.webimax.com
Search. Social. Brand. Design.Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:23:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1Pinterest has released promoted pins. Should your company be using them?http://www.webimax.com/blog/uncategorized/pinterest-released-promoted-pins-company-using
http://www.webimax.com/blog/uncategorized/pinterest-released-promoted-pins-company-using#commentsWed, 04 Mar 2015 17:13:24 +0000http://www.webimax.com/?p=14798Pinterest has released promoted pins. Should your company be using them? was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

Promoted pins from Pinterest rolled out to the public on January 1st to help small and large businesses connect to the folks that might be interested in their products and messages. Previous to 2015 Pinterest had tested this feature for a couple years and only a handful of large companies were able to access it, […]

Promoted pins from Pinterest rolled out to the public on January 1st to help small and large businesses connect to the folks that might be interested in their products and messages. Previous to 2015 Pinterest had tested this feature for a couple years and only a handful of large companies were able to access it, but those companies have noted large spikes in site referrals and web traffic from Pinterest during the course of those campaigns. So should brands start to utilize promoted pins? Absolutely, Pinterest is one of the top referral traffic generating websites, so raising brand awareness through promoted pins would be a particularly smart move for many brands.

The demographics of Pinterest tends to be higher-earning women who do tend to shop online, and Pinterest users have shown in survey after survey to have higher engagement and be more apt to make purchases than those utilizing other social media networks. Take Sephora for example, who sold 15 times more on Pinterest than on Facebook.

Sephora is a high-end brand with their own brick and mortar shops. A small boutique cosmetics brand that can’t necessarily afford to do everything that Sephora does, could still get their products in front of the same group of people that Sephora does online using promoted pins.

Having a great social media campaign on Pinterest doesn’t mean you have to be a multi-million dollar enterprise. Social Media can act as a great equalizer in that regard. As of July of 2013, there were 70 million people on Pinterest. In the U.S. 20% of all women who use the internet have a Pinterest account. Reaching a small fraction of that audience with a coordinated targeted social media campaign can mean big money for a small business.

How it works:

In a basic sense, you can consider your Pinterest page to be like a virtual store front, and the people who follow you to be the people that know your business exists. Every time you pin something in your “store front,” the only people who see that pin is that small group of people who already know about your business, your existing followers. Promoting on Pinterest allows your pins to reach outside that small group of followers, and into the vast sea of people who do not.

First you pick the pin that you’d like to promote, then you have options that help your pin reach the right people, things like keywords, location, language, device (web, iphone, android), and gender among others.

After that you input your cost per click or (CPC) bid, which is what you are willing to pay when someone clicks through to your page from the pin. You can choose start and end dates and your daily budget.

There are some guidelines that restrict what marketers can put in the descriptions, things like pricing and hash tags aren’t allowed.

After you have promoted your pin, you can track analytics like impressions, re-pins, clicks, and what you’ve spent. By seeing what works and what doesn’t, you can better mold your campaign, and Pinterest allows you to do this during the campaign.

Sticking with the cosmetics theme, if a brand can get its products in front of a group of people, whom we already know buy cosmetics online, then that brand should start to see their engagement, web-traffic and sales start to increase. They will start to compete, on a small scale of course, but still compete with the likes of Sephora. New customers will talk about the brand and products and real organic growth will begin to occur.

All social media helps to raise brand awareness, but Pinterest is geared much more towards either projects, things you have to try, or things you have to buy. Pins and boards effortlessly take on a format more reminiscent of a catalogue of items with a common theme and less like the Facebook format of scrolling through a message board of ‘anything goes.’ The bottom line is your competitors will figure this out, and your competitors are now anyone who can ship a product. Also the fact that Pinterest is utilizing a Cost per Click or CPC strategy rather than a Cost Per Impression strategy is a good indicator that Pinterest is looking to provide a product that will also work for small to medium size businesses.

And if you don’t have a dedicated online marketing team working for you, the digital marketing experts at WebiMax can help set your business up with an entire social media campaign that includes promoted pins. Call today at 1-888-932 4629 to hear how social media and our other digital marketing services can help bring your business to the next level.

Social media sites have become increasingly hot platforms for people everywhere to cast their voice. Whether giving a review of a new restaurant or sharing the latest celebrity gossip, social media sites bring people together to converse and exchange thoughts. And, they’re also the perfect place for businesses to hear the voice of customers. Customers […]

Social media sites have become increasingly hot platforms for people everywhere to cast their voice. Whether giving a review of a new restaurant or sharing the latest celebrity gossip, social media sites bring people together to converse and exchange thoughts. And, they’re also the perfect place for businesses to hear the voice of customers.

Customers are the backbone of any business. If your customers aren’t happy, then you lose them, and your business ultimately tumbles. Social media sites are not only a place for people to share their thoughts, but a place for businesses to hear what their customers are saying.

Customers like to post on social media sites because they can openly and comfortably share their views and opinions on a product, service or company. Customers don’t have to wait in line or be left on hold on a phone to voice their views. Also, customers want to know that they aren’t just another person – they want to know that they are a valued customer. Through social media sites businesses can learn of what customers are saying and provide feedback quickly. Many businesses will rant about how customers matter. But as the common expression goes, “actions speak louder than words.” Believe it or not, one tweet holds a lot of value to customers. Social media sites provide customers with the attention from businesses that they want.

Social media is also an opportune way for businesses to build and maintain relationships with customers. Businesses can share the latest industry-related news and ask customers questions to obtain feedback. Also, businesses can reach a large audience fast on social media sites, and compete with other businesses to gain customers. Additionally, businesses can share content, links, videos and pictures on social media sites, and social media sites are easy to use.

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/can-you-hear-your-customers/feed0It’s Good To Be a Chatterbox: Social Media and Brandinghttp://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/its-good-to-be-a-chatterbox-social-media-and-branding
http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/its-good-to-be-a-chatterbox-social-media-and-branding#commentsThu, 19 Jul 2012 14:22:38 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=2627It’s Good To Be a Chatterbox: Social Media and Branding was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

Here’s a hypothetical situation for you, small business owner/independent contractor. You’ve recently opened shop. Your ecommerce site is up and functioning. You’re ready to start writing freelance articles for all the big players in your industry. The next thing you do is sign up for accounts with Twitter, Facebook, and Google +. Now that your […]

Here’s a hypothetical situation for you, small business owner/independent contractor. You’ve recently opened shop. Your ecommerce site is up and functioning. You’re ready to start writing freelance articles for all the big players in your industry. The next thing you do is sign up for accounts with Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Now that your social media campaign is set up, it’s time to sit back and wait for those leads to pour in, right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Establishing your brand online can be a full time job unto itself. A few tweets here and there can easily get lost in the shuffle.

How do you raise your profile? By being a chatterbox, of course. You should try to interact with other people in your industry as much as possible in order to say to potential clients, “Hey, I’m here. I think you would benefit from using my services.” If you aren’t doing the following, try adding more of it to your daily operations:

Comment on Blog Posts and Forums

This is the best way to introduce yourself to the community at large. If you’re looking to break into a new industry, seek out a few blogs that are respected and comment on some posts. Not only is it nice to acknowledge an author’s hard work, but people will be reading your opinions. If your input is valuable, they’ll want to learn more about you and check out your site.

Interact on Your Facebook Page

Many people make the mistake of treating their Facebook business page like some static entity. You’ll only get out what you put into it. Make it feel more like a community. Respond to comments, supply a steady amount of content and, most importantly, reach out to people in order to grow your number of “Likes.”

Use Twitter For More Than Advertising

Don’t use Twitter to just send out links to your homepage. Be a real person. RT something that catches your interest, engage in conversation, be funny, etc. The best advertising you can do is getting people to enjoy reading what you have to say. The traffic will come naturally if you give people a reason to come to your site.

Need more tips on how to get the most out of your social media network? Send me an email adragonetti@webimax.com

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/its-good-to-be-a-chatterbox-social-media-and-branding/feed0Getting in the Conversation Between Social Media Usershttp://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/getting-in-the-conversation-between-social-media-users
http://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/getting-in-the-conversation-between-social-media-users#commentsTue, 15 May 2012 13:41:24 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=2128Getting in the Conversation Between Social Media Users was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

Although social media users swap countless IMs and posts across PCs and laptops every month, most people fail to realize the amount of direct messaging that takes place between mobile device owners through those same social networks. According to a blog published just a few days ago on the New York Times website, a number […]

Although social media users swap countless IMs and posts across PCs and laptops every month, most people fail to realize the amount of direct messaging that takes place between mobile device owners through those same social networks. According to a blog published just a few days ago on the New York Times website, a number of recent studies all point to the conclusion that social media apps are quickly replacing standard phone SMS as a primary form of mobile communication. One particular report states that the amount of text messages relayed by cellphone owners in the Phillipines on a monthly basis has decreased by more than a third from 2010 to 2011 (down to 400 texts from around 660).

Yet, what does this all mean to the standard small to medium-sized business owner? Well, aside from the obvious fact that Facebook and Twitter are quickly replacing traditional phone texting, it’s important to recognize the ever-increasing need for a strong social network presence in the business world. As conversations continue to take place in greater frequency between social media users, companies want to be a part of that dialogue more than ever. It’s one thing to have a prominent link on a Facebook page or Twitter feed, but becoming a talking point in these back-and-forth messages is even more worthwhile.

Maintain an Undeniable Network Presence
Often a luxury exclusive to multi-million dollar corporations, wide-scale recognition on social networks is considered by many business analysts to be the ultimate goal of any social media optimization. At the end of the day, once the ad campaign is over and the dedicated bloggers, tweeters and status updaters have gone to bed, a business owner wants to rest easy knowing that all that hard work is still finding traction. While getting to this point can take months – or even years – of hard work, getting a campaign started on the right foot can make all the difference.

For the best social media results, small business owners and experienced marketers alike need to remain active when seeking out target demographics. By searching for interest groups, watching how the competition approaches their own campaigns, keeping up with industry-related news and always staying active with posts, a social media listing can establish the follower base and ongoing attention it needs to succeed. A dedicated effort on social networks can eventually establish one’s brand across a wide audience and keep traffic going to a page consistently.

Earn, and Keep, the Attention of Potential Followers
Getting communities on social networks to notice a company is not unlike being the center of attention at a party. Although companies can end up handling thousands of followers at a time, getting people to engage a business takes the right approach. Aside from constantly posting new blog content via Facebook and other social media outlets, companies can also remain relevant on social networks by interacting directly with users. In particular, running a contest is a fantastic way to get new followers to jump onto a business’ social network feed. Raffles and community-driven competitions for consumer goods and various leisure items often provide great incentives.

Of course, it can be difficult to secure these users once a contest has ended. Should a business try to use giveaways to bolster its online following, it’s important that it attempts to continually engage these new followers outside of the contest itself. A social media campaign manager should always try to ask questions and for feedback, do community spotlights or even feature posts from social media users. This type of community response rewards users for being actively involved with a company and provides a solid way to keep people following.

Supplement Social Network Activity with even more Activity
While the old adage of “less is more” certainly applies to social media campaigns, businesses still want to make sure their voices are heard. Although one should take care in not turning away users through excessive posting and in-your-face advertising, it’s a smart move to supplement campaign efforts through additional social networks. In particular, Twitter is an excellent avenue through which companies can spread additional links and updates for their other social media assets while not overwhelming followers on other networks.

Maintaining a strong presence in social media conversations is a true challenge that offers as many rewards as it does obstacles. Should readers have any further questions regarding the right practices for social media success, I can be reached directly at jwerists@webimax.com.

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/getting-in-the-conversation-between-social-media-users/feed0Statistics Show SMB Owners Need to Trend Well on Googlehttp://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/statistics-show-smb-owners-need-to-trend-well-on-google
http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/statistics-show-smb-owners-need-to-trend-well-on-google#commentsMon, 14 May 2012 16:29:46 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=2115Statistics Show SMB Owners Need to Trend Well on Google was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

Among all the various search engines for which SEOs develop, it’s Google that time and time again gets the most attention from online marketing firms. Between continual updates to its search algorithm and ongoing releases for new user apps, the world’s biggest search engine company has truly become a force to be reckoned with. While […]

Among all the various search engines for which SEOs develop, it’s Google that time and time again gets the most attention from online marketing firms. Between continual updates to its search algorithm and ongoing releases for new user apps, the world’s biggest search engine company has truly become a force to be reckoned with. While competitors may try to get the edge on the company, Google’s current market share puts it well ahead of the pack.

According to a recent survey from comScore, Google controls over two-thirds of the search engine market at this point. Following in second and third place are Microsoft and Yahoo which saw around 15% of the average monthly search engine traffic each. While even a small percent of several hundred million users is nothing to scoff at, Bing and other search engine activity just pale in comparison to Google’s current user base. It’s because of this immense number of monthly users that small business owners need to focus on becoming better ranked in the Google SERPs.

Getting Friendlier with Google
It’s a given that a company will want to have a strong showing on Google’s result pages, but not everyone has the sort of SEO-focused behaviors in place necessary to rank highly. Although search engine-friendly website development and original content generation are top priorities for many web-savvy companies, most businesses drop the ball when it comes to establishing themselves with trending Google keywords and topics.

The Right Keywords at the Right Time
While it’s incredibly difficult for anyone to know for certain what needs to be done for a page to secure the number one SERP spot on Google, many internet advertisers recommend timely keyword selection for their clients’ websites. Since programs such as Google Webmaster Tools allow anyone to look up trending search terms and popular keywords, optimizing a webpage’s focused terms towards more effective ones is quite easy.

If a business owner finds that certain terms relevant to his or her industry are tracking better than others, improving a site’s ranking may be as simple as substituting a handful of keywords. Of course, it’s important to remember to never implement irrelevant keywords. More than ever, Google is cracking down on those sites that try to improve their rankings through keyword stuffing. SMB owners should only put in popular keywords when they are 100% relevant to the page’s existent content.

A Sociable Relationship with Google
As time goes on, Google+ is playing an increasingly more pivotal role in the company’s search engine. A few months ago, Google rolled out “Search, plus your World,” an initiative that includes content from Google+ in the main search engine results for those network users who are logged in. Due to Search+, more companies are becoming involved with the company’s social network in hopes that it will help their presence in the SERPs.

While the effectiveness of a strong Google+ campaign in yielding better traffic through organic rankings is still unproven, it’s something that many companies are actively pursuing. Even if activity on Google+ doesn’t result in significantly better SERP showings, the social media strength gained through a successful campaign on the network is still worth the while. Since Google+ is very much an up-and-coming social media network, more businesses should try to establish themselves on it to begin with.

As long as Google maintains its current growth and overall success, it will continue to be a major player in the SEO community. As such, it’s vital that businesses focus on the search engine as the primary source of their organic linkbuilding efforts. Should readers have any questions regarding how to get Google to notice their company, I can be contacted at jwersits@webimax.com for information.

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/statistics-show-smb-owners-need-to-trend-well-on-google/feed0Knowing when to Post Updates and Links on Social Media Siteshttp://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/knowing-when-to-post-updates-and-links-on-social-media-sites
http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/knowing-when-to-post-updates-and-links-on-social-media-sites#commentsWed, 09 May 2012 16:49:27 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=2047Knowing when to Post Updates and Links on Social Media Sites was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

As my fellow writers and I have recommended time and time ago, it’s a good practice for companies to use social media to supplement their other organic SEO activity. Due to the ever-increasing number of users found on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, many start-up or entrepreneur company owners are sharing their own original […]

As my fellow writers and I have recommended time and time ago, it’s a good practice for companies to use social media to supplement their other organic SEO activity. Due to the ever-increasing number of users found on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, many start-up or entrepreneur company owners are sharing their own original content effortlessly with the masses. Businesses that remain active with social media sites consistently see better traffic to their online properties than those companies that don’t retweet or post status updates. It’s an exciting time for small and medium-sized businesses to be sure, but many companies are finding that their success is somewhat limited and they don’t know why.

Although everyone touts the potential of a fully-engaged social media audience, there is also a general acknowledgement that knowing when to post a link can greatly determine the reach of one’s content. Obviously status updates about trending topics are most successful when people are not away from social media while celebrating a holiday or major event. In addition to paying attention to major events, getting a gauge on when social network users are likely online during the course of a given day is an important skill for any business owner or campaign manager to have. While developing a sense for user activity levels can be tricky, a new report released by Bit.ly can help give budding social media companies some help.

Traditional Social Media Posts Hit their Stride Early
Recent statistics from the popular link-abridging website show that popular social networks Facebook and Twitter actually see the most link activity during the earlier parts of the day. According to the site’s latest blog post, the two social media sites see their link click-through rates peak in activity starting in the morning and topping off sometime before 4 PM EST. In particular, Twitter link activity is at its highest levels between noon and 3 PM EST on weekdays, while Facebook does well during a similar timespan. Both networks see greatly diminished CTRs starting Friday and going through the weekend.

Image-Based Social Networks do well in the Evening
The Bit.ly report also states that image-centric social media site Tumblr sees the most users during the evening. From the end of the work day to around 10 PM EST, the CTRs for those links generated by Bit.ly often see their highest levels. According to the blog, Monday and Tuesday nights actually see strong activity. Friday nights are also great nights for posting on Tumblr, with heightened activity a result of the oncoming weekend.

Using these Reports Wisely
The statistics reported by Bit.ly provide more guidelines that anything else. SMB owners and social media campaign managers should always remember that the industry they work in and major events should be the prime indicators of when links should be distributed on social sites. On the average day though, the aforementioned timetables for posting should give those users who are unsure when to post their links a little extra direction.

For additional information about efficient link-sharing on sites like Facebook and Twitter, I invite readers to contact me at jwersits@webimax.com. I am more than happy to reply to any inquiries they may have.

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/knowing-when-to-post-updates-and-links-on-social-media-sites/feed0A Strong Follower Base is the Key to Social Media Successhttp://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/a-strong-follower-base-is-the-key-to-social-media-success
http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/a-strong-follower-base-is-the-key-to-social-media-success#commentsFri, 04 May 2012 16:51:21 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=1976A Strong Follower Base is the Key to Social Media Success was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

Despite the immense popularity of social networks, often times many companies find that their social media listings only get visited by a handful of people on a regular basis. Every SEO company these days strongly recommends that its clients actively participate in media sharing on networks such as Facebook or Google+, but these agencies usually […]

Despite the immense popularity of social networks, often times many companies find that their social media listings only get visited by a handful of people on a regular basis. Every SEO company these days strongly recommends that its clients actively participate in media sharing on networks such as Facebook or Google+, but these agencies usually end up only getting mixed results themselves when performing social media campaigns. While one could try to chalk up this whole situation as being a consequence of market saturation, the fact remains that most faltering social media listings are a result of low audience capture.

In the world of social media, whom you’re speaking to carries just as much weight as what’s being talked about. While a website’s keywords and SERP ranking can bring in visitors with little to no effort, a social media company‘s work needs to be custom tailored for the right groups for it to be successful. Fortunately, connecting to potential users is easy when one knows how to find them. With the right habits, any troubled social network listing can get the followers it needs to thrive.

Keeping Up with the Latest Trends
On the internet, news and trending topics spread at speeds which are simply staggering, but on social networks that rate is exponentially greater. All one needs to do is look at Twitter for examples of this. From political topics to scandal and entertainment news, media site trends come and go suddenly and often without warning. While some popular hashtags can remain active for more than two or three days, these are rarities on Twitter.

While many people have difficulty anticipating what will be the next big thing on their social network of choice, paying attention to events such as upcoming movie releases or major political rallies can be quite helpful. For example, at the moment the new Marvel film The Avengers is breaking box office records and is a hugely popular topic on Twitter and Facebook. Leading to the movie’s release, there was a ton of advertising that fed into its hype. Anyone who was paying attention to these marketing efforts could have used the growing trend to bolster their own social media efforts.

Be a Social Butterfly
One of the advantages of social networking comes from being able to interact with interest groups or fan bases within just a few keystrokes. Websites such as Google+ and Facebook offer streamlined interfaces for locating hobbyists and interested users. Simply by regularly interacting with certain groups or organizations, the odds of users coming to a company’s social media listing and following it improve dramatically.

An added bonus of being constantly active on social networks is having a venue through which to share new content and online properties for possible visitors. Should a company have a blog or community website, Facebook is also a great place to post media from those sites. Status updates featuring relevant content are capable of bringing in additional traffic as well as earning followers.

These are just a few ways that companies can strengthen their social media listings. For additional details, I can be contacted at jwersits@webimax.com.

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/social-media-campaign/a-strong-follower-base-is-the-key-to-social-media-success/feed0Social Media Selection Made Simple: The Best Potential Siteshttp://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/social-media-selection-made-simple-the-best-potential-sites
http://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/social-media-selection-made-simple-the-best-potential-sites#commentsThu, 19 Apr 2012 15:54:04 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=1709Social Media Selection Made Simple: The Best Potential Sites was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

Yesterday I kicked off a series of blog posts dedicated to choosing the best social network based on the needs of a business. For small and medium-sized company owners, there is no certainly no lack of choices to be made when selecting which social sites to operate on. Many SMBs tend to lack the sort […]

Yesterday I kicked off a series of blog posts dedicated to choosing the best social network based on the needs of a business. For small and medium-sized company owners, there is no certainly no lack of choices to be made when selecting which social sites to operate on. Many SMBs tend to lack the sort of SEO experience and social media awareness to really take advantage of each network’s full capabilities. Fortunately, each site can be boiled down to a few key attributes that can make picking the right one an intuitive, and even enjoyable, process.

In my previous blog post, I discussed social networks that emphasize the importance of location-based sharing above all else. Although those sites provide excellent marketing opportunities for small companies with only a handful of physical locations, sometimes it’s a massive audience that holds more appeal for business owners. While I’ll be announcing the most popular and farthest reaching social networks tomorrow, for now let’s focus on another category: the up-and-comers. The following websites are growing fast and may soon capture a considerable amount of social media market share.

Pinterest: Image Sharing made Quick and EasyIf you’re a frequent visitor of any SEO-focused news or community website, you’ve no doubt heard of Pinterest. Although it is currently in an invite-only beta testing phase, Pinterest has quickly grown to become one of the most talked about social media sites today. Based on the simple premise of sharing popular images with friends and strangers, this site encourages a more passive approach to social networking. Many Pinterest users effortlessly collect dozens of images and share them with other users every day, ultimately passing along content hundreds of times. It’s this sort of media sharing habit that SMB owners should focus on.

While getting involved with Pinterest does take a bit of time (due to its beta state, some companies have to wait weeks for an invite), businesses can generate a lot of site traffic for themselves by becoming involved with the site both actively and passively. Although the team at Pinterest doesn’t want people advertising directly on the network, that doesn’t mean a SMB owner can’t publish images of their business or staff and drum up a friendly following. At the same time, one can also look into putting Pinterest sharing buttons on the pages of any products one may sell. Amazon and eBay have already done so and see a lot of conversion rates from Pinterest on a daily basis because of it.

Google+: Gaining Steam at a Decent ClipI know what some readers may be thinking. It’s true, a lot of people in the SEO community are outspoken about Google’s social network and many consider it a failure. Although it doesn’t stack up to Facebook (but really what network can?), Google+ is something that more business owners need to consider for their social media marketing purposes. It’s a topic that I’ve visited before in the past, but it belongs here as well: SMB owners need to look at Google+’s relatively small user base as a chance to get the edge on the competition.

Over the past few months, there has been a significant amount of growth on Google’ social network. As many businesses have yet to establish a presence on the site, there’s also plenty of room for small businesses to get involved here and now. A few moments taken to set up a profile and a bit of initiative in maintaining a social media feed on Google+ could be massively rewarding in the future. Social media sharing buttons for the G+ service are also recommended for those SMB owners who consistently see regular visitors on their site that may share their content through Google+.

Tomorrow I’ll be going over my top two picks for the strongest social networks of 2012. For now, I recommend that readers look into social media optimization and organic SEO services that can make a major difference in the web traffic they see. I can be contacted at jwersits@webimax.com if there are any questions that need to be answered.

As social media websites become the focal point of countless internet advertising firms, so too have small business owners come to depend on social networks for their ongoing marketing campaigns. While Facebook is the primary social website for many companies these days, the fact is that there is no shortage of social media sites to […]

As social media websites become the focal point of countless internet advertising firms, so too have small business owners come to depend on social networks for their ongoing marketing campaigns. While Facebook is the primary social website for many companies these days, the fact is that there is no shortage of social media sites to pick from when trying to improve a company’s conversion rates and traffic. Although social media companies often ignore many sites when campaigning, the options available to businesses advertising on social networks are rather robust.

Over the next few days, I’ll be looking at the half dozen or so websites that most social media advertisers call home. Many small business owners tend to ignore the vast array of networks they could be marketing through and instead rely on Facebook as their sole avenue of social campaigning. Experienced SEO agencies realize that each site has its own unique properties that allow businesses to capitalize on their company’s strengths. By choosing to focus one’s efforts on a social network that offers features that are worth using, a small business owner can bring in far more clientele than otherwise.

In today’s blog post, I’ll be putting the spotlight on those social networks that bring customers directly to a company’s doorstop. While they may not be as active as the bigger networks around today, geographically-focused social media sharing sites are an excellent asset to any small to medium-sized business.

Foursquare: The Little Meta Game that Could (and Does)The most well-known of these social networks is, of course, Foursquare. Over the course of the last several years, Foursquare has become the most prevalent social media sharing site for “check-in” activity. Structured as a friendly competition between other users, the site is accessible through free apps available on every smartphone digital market out there. Getting involved with the network is as easy as having your business get listed online.

Many companies benefit from Foursquare through having an active listing full of comments and constant check-ins from users. For best results, you will want to have ongoing contests and promotions accessible only to network users. For example, a coffeehouse owner can offer a free drink for every five check-ins or a discount for regular visitors. The more active a Foursquare business account is, the better the chance that users will share their activity on Facebook or other networks. This allows businesses to appear in social media user feeds and gain additional exposure with little to no effort.

Pinwheel: The Up-and-ComerPinwheel is an interesting network. Similar in function to Foursquare, it allows its users to share their travel activity to friends and family in a few quick steps. The big difference between it and Foursquare lies with how users are able to add non-business locations to a map and pin images across it. As of right now, Pinwheel is in beta phase and as such users will have to sign up for a mailing list in order to get into it.

Business owners may be asking why they should bother with Pinwheel. Well, for one thing, getting into the network’s beta means getting in on the ground floor. A business established on Pinwheel now will have a considerable advantage over those companies that try to jump on the bandwagon once the site goes live. Pinwheel promises to offer many of the popular features that Foursquare provides to its users, so businesses that use the network will have plenty of tools to work with.

Facebook’s Check-In Feature: Well-Integrated, but Less ReliableCompanies already involved with Facebook may have seen its users check in at various locations from time to time. It’s true that site users can post their activity and mention a business as well as tag others, but the function isn’t as active on Facebook as it is on social media networks dedicated to that function (a la Foursquare). On the plus side, Facebook actively tracks the metrics for a business’ check-in rates and analytics are available for that information at any time.

Small business owners who focus most of their efforts on Facebook should definitely look into encouraging their followers to check in when visiting their company’s locations. Check-in activity can help keep a company’s name in user feeds consistently throughout both workdays and holidays.

Thus concludes the first installment in my three-part series on selecting the right social media site for business campaigns. For additional information, I advise readers to check out our resources on social media company services or to contact me at jwersits@webimax.com.

]]>http://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/social-media-selection-made-simple-location-focused-networks/feed0Faith in a SEO Future: Social Media Companies Already Believehttp://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/faith-in-an-seo-future-social-media-companies-already-believe
http://www.webimax.com/blog/seo/faith-in-an-seo-future-social-media-companies-already-believe#commentsWed, 11 Apr 2012 17:03:41 +0000http://www.webimax.com/blog/?p=1574Faith in a SEO Future: Social Media Companies Already Believe was originally posted on the WebiMax SEO Blog

The current prevalence of social networks in our daily lives is not to be underestimated. Although some sites such as Facebook have been showing a generally downward growth trend as of late, the medium that we refer to as “social media” is stronger now than it’s ever been before. With nearly a billion users to […]

The current prevalence of social networks in our daily lives is not to be underestimated. Although some sites such as Facebook have been showing a generally downward growth trend as of late, the medium that we refer to as “social media” is stronger now than it’s ever been before. With nearly a billion users to be found between Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, it’s clear that there is no end in sight for social networking. This, of course, bodes well for social media companies that handle business marketing. What may surprise many readers, however, is how the constant growth of social media may continue to cement the relevance of SEO as a whole.

Just last week, a report was released by Social Media Examiner that delved into the activities of over 3,800 social media marketing companies (SMM) the world over. As these social network-focused internet marketing firms answered the annual site survey in droves, everyone got a chance to see the breakdown of their efforts. Although one might assume that SMMs focus most of their efforts on PPC campaigning, it turns out that less than half do so and instead favor SEO in their campaigns.

Really it’s the SMM preference of SEO-related activities over pay per click advertising and event marketing that is a real attention getter. Out of the nearly 4,000 social media company representatives polled, 65% of them admit to relying on search engine optimization over a mere 38% who claim they use PPC ads. In an additional inquiry, the polled companies were asked if they intend to use more SEO or PPC services in the future. 68% of the surveyed marketing firms stated that they will be using more SEO methods through the year, while a significantly lower 43% intend to redouble their PPC efforts.

Social Media Marketers both Need and Want SEO

In spite of the recent concerns being voiced by key members of the industry, social media companies certainly have a great deal of confidence in the future of SEO. With Google’s massive Panda overhaul being released shortly, it’s a reassuring thing to see that online advertising firms haven’t lost faith in the current state of internet marketing. For all the doomsayers and alarmists currently speaking out against Google, some small business owners may be tempted to ignore organic link building in favor of paid advertisements. It’s reports such as the one published by Social Media Examiner that offer concrete truths in uncertain times.

The results of the survey show that the biggest social media marketing firms realize that search engine optimization is here to stay. While Google Head of Webspam Matt Cutts has warned the SEO community against sites using “heavy SEO,” the fact remains that smartly designed optimization efforts will continue to prove beneficial for business owners of every shape and size. While any SEO company worth its weight knows that less is more, what also matters is how the work is implemented. For social media companies, that means creating quality content for both networks and destination pages. It’s because of reliance like this that SEO will be along for years to come.